Handle Knowledge With Care; 1 Corinthians 6-8

May the mumbling commence!

Knowledge is power.  Handle with care. To handle knowledge with care is the definition of wisdom.  And wisdom comes only from the Lord.  Read First Corinthians chapter eight:

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.  The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.  But the man who loves God is known by God. 

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.  For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live. 

But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.  But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.  For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?  So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.  When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.  Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.

While our knowledge may give us freedom, our freedom can become a stumbling block to one who does not have the knowledge we have.  We may know something is harmless in moderation – like alcohol. 

But remember: We bare the name of Christ as Christians.  If we drink alcohol among Christians who have the propensity for alcoholism, we may lead them to stumble.  Our knowledge will have destroyed them.

Knowledge is power.  Handle with care.

You and I have our weaknesses.  We would not like them tested – let alone tempted.  So we must look carefully at our neighbors to understand their weaknesses so that we might help them in their growing walk with Jesus.  That is building one another up.  That is love.

Let us join Paul in vowing to do nothing that would cause another person to stumble.  This attitude helps to deflate the potentially pompous nature of knowledge.  To deflate an overactive ego turns knowledge into wisdom.  And wisdom will bloom into godly uses of power.

Knowledge is power.  Seek the wisdom of Christ Jesus.  And handle with care.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out